


Monster Falls (AU) //On Hiatus//

by theravenswritingdesk



Category: Gravity Falls
Genre: Alternate Universe - Monster Falls, Gen, ongoing
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-08-17
Updated: 2016-05-15
Packaged: 2018-04-15 07:18:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 19,226
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4597752
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/theravenswritingdesk/pseuds/theravenswritingdesk
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Based on the Tumblr creation, Monster Falls, I bring to you the story of the AU with a bit of my own flair.<br/>Follow the Pines twins on their latest adventure involving strange transformations, the return of a certain dream demon, and a whole lot of interesting!<br/>I hope you enjoy!</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Intro

This is based on the Gravity Falls Au: Monster Falls, which originated on Tumblr.   
It's about where the characters of Gravity Falls get turned into monsters based on their personalities due to a mysterious stream in the woods, the  _Fluvious Cantatis,_  who's appearance is based on the stream shown in the end credits of "Dreamscaperers."  
In this AU, "Gideon Rises" never happens, as he is completely prevented from procuring the deed to the Shack. However, he does not go to jail, and they still have met Bill.   
If you'd like to learn more about it, just check it out on tumblr!  
Enjoy~  
  
(POV's will be announced by a line break... it shouldn't be too complicated, lol)


	2. Babbling Brook

 

     The sun was high in the sky when Dipper came across the creek. The 12 year-old had nearly fallen into the body of water before his ears picked up the sound of rushing water. He jumped back from the bank, gazing at his surroundings. Various coniferous and birch trees surrounded the stream's rocky shores, sunlight trickling through their branches and dancing on the water. It was so blue, and it fell perfectly into a little waterfall.  
     The Fluvius Cantatis.  
     Dipper had just been reading about it in the ever-elusive Journal #3. After successfully preventing the little trolls Gideon from obtaining the deed to Grunkle Stan's shack, he decided to talk a walk in the woods and read more of the journal in an attempt to relax.  
     He sat down on a fallen log that was half overrun with a bright green fungus to examine the page.  
     " _The Fluvius Cantatis is HIGHLY DANGEROUS! DO NOT TOUCH!  
     "Located deep in the forest of Gravity Falls, the creek appears beautiful and inviting. I am not sure how far it runs. Upon contact, the victim will be transformed into a monster/mythical creature within a span of anywhere from six to twenty-four hours. If a creature come within contact, it will become human! The cure, however, is unknown._"  
     Finishing the last sentence, Dipper backed a little farther away from the creek. An illustration in the book was identical to the scene that lay before him.   
     A woodpecker sounded from within the trees as he stared at the stream, contemplating as to how the magic within it worked, and exactly how far the stream went. Everything seemed so peaceful, with the golden shafts of sun stretching to the earth, and birds chirping in the woods. Nothing disturbed the mysterious brook. Dipper wondered whether or not he should label it as "Toxic," or something.   
     He decided to tear out one of the journal's blank pages in the back and wrote "DO NOT TOUCH" on it in the click-pen that he had brought with him. He then stuck the paper through a branch of one of the birch trees.   
     "There," he said to himself, satisfied. That had been his goal; find the stream, and label it.  
      Feeling a sense of accomplishment, Dipper stood up from the log, stuffed the journal in his vest pocket, and set off toward the Mystery Shack, wanting to share his discovery with his twin sister, Mabel.  
  
                                                                                                                                    
  
     The next day was a Saturday- usually the busiest day at the Shack. Grunkle Stan was kicked into high gear, his full suit and fez ensemble on before eight in the morning, without a single shout to Dipper and Mabel about how his pants were missing. Even Wendy, the Shack's cashier girl, seemed to actually care about her work just as much as Soos, the handyman, did.   
     Dipper and Mabel, after breakfast, were called into the Shack's gift shop for what Stan called a 'pep-talk,' even though it was usually just the old man barking orders to his 2 employees and niece and nephew.   
     "Dipper," he began in his gruff voice, "I need you to wear the wolf costume again today."  
     "Actually," Mabel cut in sheepishly, "I shredded that thing." She recalled the time when Stan had challenged her to a bet, and she had won, out-conning the con man. Shredding Dipper's wolf costume was just one of the beneficial events that had happened that weekend.   
     Grunkle Stan frowned. "Okay, whatever, fine. Instead, you can work the ticket booth. Wendy, actually  _do_  your job today, Soos, you have to fix the golf cart again, and, Mabel, you just..." Stan put his string of commands to a pause.  
     Within that moment of silence, Dipper and Seuss had gone outside into the blazing heat, and Wendy had assumed her place behind the register. Mabel stood in front of her Great-Uncle, awaiting an assignment.  
     Stan furrowed his eyebrows in what Mabel deemed deep thought. Then, it looked as if a light bulb had went off inside his head.  
     "Mabel, it's, what, 100 degrees out, right? Take these bottles-" the man gestured to a pile of plastic water bottles that, for some reason, was in the Mystery Shack, "-and go into the woods and find a stream or something with really good-looking water in it, and fill them up. I'm gonna sell the bottles as 'Stan Water'- patent pending."   
    As he announced his new product idea, Stan used is hands to exaggerate the success of the water he wanted to bottle.   
    Mabel, obliging, stuffed the bottles into a big bag and left the Shack with an "Okie-dokie!"  
   Mabel noticed that cars had already filled up the 'parking lot' of the attraction. Grunkle Stan had been right, it was  _really_  hot out. She decided to take off her purple sweater (with a cat on it, of course), and leave herself in her blue t-shirt, wrapping the sweater around her waist.   
    She had lost track of time as she ventured through the forest, eyes peeled for a clear looking stream. Finally, deep in the woods, she stumbled upon a shimmering blue creek, with water that looked so fresh and clear that it had to be perfect. Mabel dipped a finger in the water and beamed a braces-filled smile when she discovered that it was practically ice-cold.  
    Cupping her hands, Mabel took a sip of the liquid. For random forest water, it tasted wonderful. She excitedly filled up every bottle with the water and capped the,. Her load was heavier now, so it would take a while to get back. But, when she did, she found Grunkle Stan in the gift shop and handed him the bag of bottles.  
     The old man took one out and examined the water inside, a smile creeping onto his face. "Good work, kiddo! Here, take one on the house."   
     He tossed the bottle he was holding to his niece, and then Mabel went to go find her brother, smiling broadly as she heard Stan advertising her find.   
     "Dipper!" Mabel called, catching sight of him talking to Soos.   
     "Oh, hey, Mabel," Dipper greeted as his twin approached.   
     "'Sup, dawg," Soos added.   
     Instead of replying, the girl just smiled coyly and took and took a long swig of the water. It was intensely refreshing.   
     "Can I have some water?" Dipper asked.   
     Mabel nodded and handed him the bottle. Her sibling chugged the liquid until Soos grabbed the bottle and poured some of the stuff down his throat as well.   
     "Dude, this water is great! Where did you get it?" Soos asked.  
     "Just a creek in the woods," Mabel shrugged.   
     Dipper's eyes flickered to the empty bottle in Soos' hand and widened. "Wait, where?"  
     "I dunno, far back in there. But it was so blue and clear and I just knew it was perfect!" Mabel explained excitedly.  
     "Was it, like, oddly tranquil?"  
     "Sure," Mabel shrugged, a bit confused as to why Dipper was getting so hyped up over the fact that the water had been from the woods. Mabel was positive that he wasn't a germaphobe, so what was the matter?  
      Dipper whipped out Journal #3 and anxiously flipped through the pages, showing one to his sister. "Did it look like this?"  
      "A little bit, but there wasn't a waterfall. But it had a ton of birch trees and rocks and stuff like in that picture," Mabel pointed out.  
      Dipper looked horrified, and the faint dark circles under his eyes seemed to darken.  
      "What's the matter, bro-bro?" Mabel questioned, concerned.   
      "This is very bad..." Dipper murmured to himself, pacing around the golf cart.  
      Just then, a sea of tourists flooded out of the Shack, drinking the 'Stan Water' and getting into their cars, obviously happy with their purchases.   
      "Dipper, dude, what's wrong?" Soos asked, "you're seriously freaking me out."  
      "We have to talk to Stan." Dipper declared, and rushed into the Mystery Shack. Mabel and Soos, bewildered, trailed behind him, leaving the summer sun behind. 


	3. Explanations, Exclamations

 

 

    Dipper rushed through the screen door, frantic. He blanched at the sight of Grunkle Stan downing a bottle of the cursed water, and nearly screamed when he saw that Wendy's friends had showed up and, they too, were all drinking the stuff. Without thinking, he slapped the bottles out of their hands. Mabel and Soos had quietly entered the main room of the Shack, looking bewildered as ever.   
        "Kid, why'd 'ya just slap an empty bottle out of my hand?" Stan questioned. "This water's great! The whole town was in here today, and everyone bought some! They ran me dry! Even those pesky cops and Mabel's friends and the girl they hate so much! Even Gideon came in here to claim vengeance, but I splashed some on him and he ran away whining about his hair! Amazing! This stuff is amazing! Mabel, first thing tomorrow I want you to get more!"  
        "STOP DRINKING THE WATER!!" Dipper interrupted. His voice cracked a little, but he didn't care. The issue at hand was a bit more pressing than puberty. Stan's words then hit him; the  _whole town_ was here, even Gideon and Pacifica and Candy and Grenda. And  _everyone_ had bought the beverage. This was bad.  
        Very bad.  
        "Dipper? Hey! What's up?" Wendy asked, setting down her bottle.   
        "The... water..." Dipper rasped, "it's... cursed!"   
        Robbie spit out a mouthful of "Stan Water" onto Thompson, who shrieked something about his shirt being cotton and that it would shrink. Tambry just started typing on her phone at a rapid pace. Meanwhile, Nate and Lee were laughing at Thompson. Wendy shushed them, her face becoming serious.  
        "Dipper, say that again," she commanded.  
        "The 'Stan Water' is cursed!" he exclaimed.  
        "Woah, kid, what do ya mean 'cursed'?" Stan asked.  
        The other teenagers had gone quiet.  
        "Dipper, dude, what's going on?" Soos' voice echoed in the silence.  
        "The stream that Mabel got the water from is in this journal of supernatural entities and stuff," he explained, pulling the battered book out of his vest pocket. "It says that the water will curse anyone who touches or drinks it into a monster based on their personality, and the cure is unknown."  
        "Dip, did you use the black light?" Mabel proposed.   
        A wave of relief overcame Dipper. "Oh, no. Wait, maybe this panicking was for nothing."   
        He took out the black light from his pocket to look for invisible ink on the page. He swept the light all over the paper, but nothing new was revealed. His hopes faded.   
        "There's nothing there," Dipper declared.  
        "Okay, if you're right, then why aren't we monsters right now?" Robbie asked.  
        "It says that the effects don't appear until at least six hours after contact," Dipper said.  
        "Hey, monsters? That's pretty cool, though. LEE, LET'S GO TELL EVERYBODY!" Nate stated, his voice rising.   
        His friend cheered, and the two ran out of the Shack, with Thompson in tow, as he did not want to be left out.   
        "Everyone pretty much knows though, because I tweeted it," Tambry said.   
        "Let's just go," Robbie suggested. "See ya' later Wendy."  
        The couple left the building, too, leaving just the staff, the owner, and his great niece and nephew.  
        "Finally," Grunkle Stan sighed, "I thought they'd never leave!"  
        Wendy frowned.  
        "Wait, so we're all gonna be  _monsters_  by tomorrow?" Mabel asked, starting to worry. "Even my friends?"  
        Dipper nodded sullenly.  
        "How is this possible? Magic streams don't just pop up in forests," Stan grumbled.   
        "Well, it's not like the forest behind this place is normal, Mr. Pines," Soos pointed out.  
        "Whatever, this is dumb. Nothing's gonna happen. I'm taking a nap," Stan declared, and then went into the living area of the Mystery Shack, slamming the door behind him.   
        "What kind of monsters will we be? Like a Pterodactyl?" Soos wondered aloud, pronouncing the 'p' in 'pterodactyl,' much to Dipper's dismay.   
        "Or will we grow big claws and fangs and nasty green lizard scales?" Wendy added on, making claw motions with her hands.  
        "What if we were all  _vampires_?" Mabel suggested, a dreamy tone in her voice.  
        "No, I think we're all different creatures, like, based on our personalities. Like someone  _might_ be a vampire, but someone could also be a werewolf or a gnome or..."  
        "This doesn't sound that bad, dude," Soos pointed out.   
        "Are you CRAZY?!" Dipper yelled, followed by a "Keep it down!" from Stan, "we're all gonna turn into God knows what, and possibly, like, kill each other, and you think that that's  _cool_?!"   
        Mabel nodded in agreement. "This could be a good thing  _or_ a bad thing."  
        "I think, for now, we should keep thinking of it as a good thing, because it's lunch time, and I'd rather eat in peace!" Wendy suggested, laughing a little.  
        "Haha, yeah, good plan," Dipper said, and then cursed himself.  _Aren't I over her?_  
        With that, they parted ways to eat their meals, and began to prepare for the next wave of tourists. Dipper wouldn't let Mabel go out to get more water, because the afternoon wave was always tourists, and there was no way he would bring the monster epidemic to people from other towns.   
  
                                                                                                                                      

  
        The rest of the day was lazy. Surprisingly, not too many tourists came through, so not much work could be done. Everyone was tired by the time the Shack closed, and the air had finally cooled down. After Wendy and Soos said their goodbyes and went home, and the Pines trio had eaten a dinner of slightly overcooked spaghetti and canned tomato sauce (courtesy of Stan's cooking), they sat around the old television in the living room.   
        Mabel was sprawled out on the tan shag carpet, petting her pet pig, Waddles. Dipper was leaning against the dinosaur skull replica/ end table, doing some Summer Reading. Mabel hadn't started that yet, and really was not planning to until school was at least a week away. Grunkle Stan, as usual, was in his white undershirt and blue striped boxers, sitting on his ugly yellow armchair that was worn down from years of use. He kept his fez on, for whatever reason, and was staring intently at the infomercial on the T.V. through his glasses.   
        As the crickets and cicadas droned on outside, Mabel couldn't help but wonder about the effects of that stream water. She wasn't sure whether she believed anything would happen or not, but the journal had not proved the twins wrong yet. The thing that she worried about most, however, was what she might turn into.   
         _What if I get turned into an ugly troll or something and lost my cuteness again, like when Bill made me ugly? But Dipper said the monster matched your personality. What would match_ my  _personality? A fairy or something?_  
        The thoughts and "what ifs" kept haunting Mabel for the rest of the evening, even after Stan sent them to bed. Mabel lay awake, aware of Waddle's curled up at her feet. She knew her brother was awake too. His breathing wasn't sleepy yet. When you share a room with someone for twelve years, things like that catch on.   
        Even so, as she stared at the ceiling and discovered  a new mold spot ( _I'll name you Jerome),_ Mabel decided that she would just have to wait and see what the morning brought her.   
        With that thought, the girl slowly drifted off to sleep.


	4. Transformation Tragedy

  
        Dipper awoke to the sound of a scream.  
        Mabel's scream.   
        He jolted up in bed, frantic, ignoring the fact that his entire lower body felt numb. He glanced over to Mabel's side of the room, but her bed was unmade and empty. Worry flooded Dipper until he heard a shriek again from his sister, but it was then followed by laughter from the same person.   
         _What_?   
        Dipper made to get out of bed, but instead collapsed to the floor and cried out in shock. Where his legs should have been was the body of a deer, with cloven hooves and a little tail and everything. His hearing, too, seemed to be more precise, and Dipper wondered what had happened to his ears. Slowly, he tried to stand up on his new legs. This curse was not going to be fun to deal with.   
        After some grunting and struggling, Dipper managed to stand upright. He shakily made his way over to the mirror on Mabel's part of the room, and almost fell down again. From the sides of his head were big, fluffy deer ears! Dipper was made to believe that this was weird enough when a sharp pain met his head. Carefully, the boy reached a hand to feel where the pain began. His fingers were met with what he thought were the beginnings of antlers.  
        Dipper grimaced at his reflection. He looked ridiculous. "I  _have_ to find a cure," he said to himself.   
        With that, he slowly made his way out into the hallway, only to hear more laughter from Mabel. It seemed to be coming from the bathroom. Dipper wondered what in the world that wretched water had transformed Mabel into, but, from the sounds of it, she was enjoying... whatever it was.   
        "Mabel?" Dipper inquired as he approached the room. The girl was nowhere in sight.  
        Suddenly, something popped out of the water in the bathtub with a splash that made Dipper's heart leap until he realized that it was his twin. "Hey Dipping Sauce!" Mabel greeted with a metal filled smile. She laughed as her gaze roamed over him. "What are you, anyway? Some kind of deer-taur?"   
        Dipper frowned. "I don't even know. All I know is that we have to find the cure because I look ridiculous. What are you doing in the bathtub, anyway?"   
        "Oh, haha... about that..." Mabel paused and then leaned back in the water. Out of nowhere, a shimmering pink fish tail emerged from the basin. Mabel wiggled it. "Isn't it great! I've always wanted to be a mermaid... maybe Mermando and I can have a future together!" The girl gasped, and her eyes went distant, as if she was going into a reverie.   
        "Mabel, never mind that, how are you going to move around?" Dipper asked, in awe of how Mabel could make turning into a monster a good thing.   
        She was started out of her daydream before she answered, "Oh, Soos is building me a thing. Like a big fishbowl on wheels! It's like that hamster ball I've always wanted... probably. But it'll be really cool because I'm gonna put a TON of stickers on it."  
        At the mention of the Hispanic handyman, Dipper recalled all of the events from yesterday.  _Everyone in town had bought the water_. "Oh no," Dipper said aloud, and stumbled down the stairs, leaving a very confused Mabel behind.  
        His new appendages would definitely take some getting used to. They were wobbly and jerky and, well, not meant for walking or going down stairs. He hardly even went down the stairs so much as he took one step and fell the rest of the way, landing on his stomach with his legs all over the place. Dipper scrambled to get up, still in just his orange tee shirt, and find Grunkle Stan.   
        The old man was easily found because the sounds of his cursing and breaking things sounded very loudly from the kitchen. Dipper ran-no,  _galloped_  - into the room and actually screamed at the sight of his Great Uncle.   
        The man's skin was a stony gray that looked to be actual stone, his eyes were a disturbingly bright yellow and large white fangs protruded from his upper set of teeth that were long enough that they came down over his lower lip, and his ears were pointer than usual. From his shoulder blades, though, stretched a pair of enormous gray wings that kept bumping into everything, even though Stan kept them folded behind his back.   
        "Grunkle Stan?" Dipper questioned meekly, a bit afraid of the monster standing before him.  
        "Wha- oh! Kid, you're finally awake. Doesn't look like you're too happy either with your new look... what are you, anyway? A sort of fawn or deer centaur? Honestly, you look more awkward and sweaty than you did when you were  _fully_ human."   
        "Mabel called me a deertaur," Dipper grumbled. "This is terrible. How are you gonna run the Shack looking like  _that_?"  
        Stan nearly dropped the bowl he was holding. "Oh crud. I forgot about that... we should commission Mabel to think of something. I need to have Soos fix all of this," the old man said, his voice as gravelly as the rocks that made up his body. "Being a Gargoyle is not fun. I think if I fall I'm gonna go through the floor! Hey, kid, get Soos in here for me. He's outside building something for your Sister."  
        Obliging, Dipper went, with much difficulty from his legs, and got his vest and signature pine-tree hat, throwing them on before he went outside. It felt weird not having to wear pants.  
        "Dipper, bro!" Soos called as Dipper shut the screen door to the Shack. "You look rad!"  
        Dipper turned  to face the man-child. He looked pretty normal, except that his skin seemed waxy and almost drippy.   
        "Soos... what  _are_  you?" Dipper asked.  
        "Uh, I don't really know. Something with clay, I think. It's pretty awesome though because I can, like, shapeshift!" With that, Soos morphed into a giant ball shape and rolled around. "It's so weird, dude. I keep sticking to everything."  
        "So, a clay... thing. Okay. I have to write this down... oh. Stan wants you to do something for him in the kitchen." Dipper said, pulling out the Journal and a pen from his vest pocket. On one of the blank pages, Dipper scribbled some notes about everything.   
         _Me (Dipper) - Deer-taur (?)_  
         _Mabel- Mermaid_  
         _Grunkle Stan- Gargoyle_  
         _Soos- clay golem (??)_  
        "Alright, dude, I'd do anything for Mr. Pines!" Soos said, and then paused his work on Mabel's portable fish tank and went inside.   
        Dipper needed to sit down and think about this. Think about... everything. But he also needed to go into town to see what had happened to everyone else. This was all way to much for him.   
        "Hey, Dipper! You were right about the water thing!" came a familiar voice.   
        It was Wendy, his old crush, walking over to start work. Except, she wasn't normal. From head to toe she was covered in fur the same red color as her hair, and canine ears stuck out from her head. Her face was a cross between human and dog, her eyes were yellow, and a bushy tail was to be seen wagging back and forth on her back.   
         _Wendy- Werewolf_.   
        "This is so weird, isn't it?" Wendy asked. "I think my entire family are wolves now. I don't like this... it's, like, itchy."  
        Instead of replying, Dipper just screamed in response. 


	5. Meeting the Monsters

Mabel could not believe her luck. To her, it was almost unimaginable. She could have turned into a troll or something, but nope- she became a mermaid! A mermaid- with a  _pink_ tail, nonetheless! The only problem with this was that, now, she was practically immobile, confined to the space of the bathtub, lest she wanted to die, which was definitely  _not_ on her summer bucket list. She wondered how Dipper was doing. The whole deertaur thing was weird, but it sort of suited him. He also looked adorable because he had fluffy deer ears!   
        Even with these crazy thoughts bouncing around inside her head, Mabel was  _bored_. Her fingers were beginning to prune and having a fish tail, while still super exciting, was losing it's flair as a new and interesting thing. Strangely enough, Mabel was almost used to the thing! Also; she was Hungry with a capital H. Just as the girl was about to call for her uncle (she had planned to begin to call him 'Gargrunkle') when Soos appeared in the doorway to the bathroom.   
        "Mabel! I just finished your fishbowl-on wheels! It's super rad, dude!"  
        Relief washed over her. "Oh, great! How can you get me to it?"  
        "It's just downstairs so I'll just carry you down," Soos shrugged.   
        Without further warning, Soos came over and scooped Mabel out of the water, and she snatched her packet of stickers from the bathroom counter just in time as he rushed her down the stairs. Even though she had only been water-free for seconds, she was already feeling parched and very dry. Fortunately, she was promptly placed in a new container of water, this one round and glass with plenty of room for her to swim around. Mabel realized with a smile that the fishbowl was securely duct taped to a wagon that she could be pulled around in.   
        "Soos! It's amazing! I love it!" the girl gushed. " _And_ I have waterproof stickers!"   
        Immediately, Mabel stuck all sorts of stickers all over the tank, and was only satisfied when she had used them all. She beamed, and Soos was surely about to compliment her handy work when a Dipper-sounding scream sounded from outside.   
        "We should probably check that out," Soos said, and then pulled Mabel's wagon outside with him.   
        The two arrived to see Wendy and Dipper in front of the Shack. Wendy, it appeared, had turned into a werewolf.   
        "Dudes, are you okay?" Soos inquired.   
        "Yeah, Soos," Dipper answered. "Didn't Grunkle Stan want you, or something?"   
        "Oh, shoot, I forgot. See you guys later!" And, with that, Soos shut the screen door behind him, leaving little drips of clay wherever he walked.  
          
                                                                                                                                    

 

        "Mabel, you're a mermaid! Cool!" Wendy said after Soos had gone inside.   
        "Wait until you see Stan," Mabel said.   
        "Oh, I can't wait!" Wendy laughed. "This whole thing is weird, but oddly I kinda feel used to it already."  
        "Me too," agreed Mabel.   
        "Well, I'm definitely not," Dipper chimed in. "This is way too paranormal for me. It's weirder than the usual weird of this place. Mabel, I think we should go into town to see what happened to everyone else." Dipper paused, remembering that Wendy was also there. "Uh, Wendy, do you want to come too?"   
        "I would, but I think I should go help Soos," Wendy said as a loud crash erupted from inside the Shack. "I know where Stan keeps his therapy pillow."   
        After the redhead werewolf retreated into the Mystery Shack, Dipper and his twin were left alone.  
        "How are we gonna get into town?" Mabel asked. "I kinda doubt you can pull this thing that far."  
        As if on cue, Soos came out of the Mystery Shack, claiming that he wanted to come with the twins. The clay man-child quickly realized the problem and offered to put Mabel into the back of his truck.   
        "I can pull her!" Dipper argued, his voice cracking.   
        To that, Mabel just laughed, and Dipper just went along with Soos' plan.  
  
        After they had arrived to the center of town, and Soos had hauled Mabel and her tank out of the truck (this was really going to be a hassle), the trio began walking around and just observing people, while Dipper documented in Journal #3. Sheriff Blubs and Deputy Darland were some weird two headed monster. Nate was a were-puma (?), Lee an ice giant, Tambry a tree nymph, and Thompson a satyr. Old Man McGucket looked like a Wizard of sorts, and a bunch of other monsters roamed around town, highly confused as to what was going on. The two police officers eventually approached them.   
        "Do  _you_ know anything about this, city boy?" the Darland head questioned through his megaphone.   
        "Yeah, this is a monstrosity!" Blubs added.  
        "Was that a pun?" Darland asked his partner.  
        "How could you tell?"  
        "Great minds think alike!"  
        The two shared a chuckle before turning back to Dipper.  
        "Uh, yeah, I do. Everyone in the town turned into Monsters because..." Dipper paused. He certainly didn't want to put the blame on the Mystery Shack and his family. He would have to lie a little to maintain order. "Because Lake Gravity falls has been contaminated, and everyone who swam in it this summer is affected!"   
        Mabel and Soos looked at him oddly, but then understood what was happening. The two cops were skeptical, but then nodded and went to tell everyone what was going on.  _At least they're doing their jobs this time,_ Dipper thought, thinking back to the time when they didn't after someone had destroyed Grunkle Stan's wax statue. Soon, the chaos receded, and people were trying to normalize the issue.   
        All of a sudden, some very girlish shrieks sounded, and they turned to see what appeared to be two remote-controlled, mobile fish bowls like Mabel's coming toward them. One contained a familiar looking cecaelia with a voice lower than most, and the other a kappa with big round glasses.   
        "Candy! Grenda! You guys are sea monsters too!" Mabel gushed, waving to her friends.   
        "How did you get those tanks?" Dipper wondered.  
        "Oh, my dad got them, they run on old car parts or something," Candy said.   
        "This is so weird, isn't it, Mabel?" Grenda half-shouted. "I'm an OCTOPUS WOMAN!"   
        Mabel was about to reply when yet another scream reverberated throughout the town.  _What now?_ Dipper thought.  _Who else do we have to meet_? Of course, the more people, the better, for then he could write down who everyone was.   
        It was a golden gorgon in a puple top and hoop earrings, with little snake bangs. The monster had a snake's tale on her lower body and wore huge designer sunglasses as she came slithering over to the group.   
        "WHO DID THIS?!" Pacifica Northwest shrieked as she approached. "I already turned my Chihuahua to stone this morning because I wasn't wearing any sunglasses! Now I'm  _UGLYYYY!"_ the golden scaled girl shrieked, her snakes-for-hair hissing along.   
        "I bet you weirdos had something to do with it," Pacifica screamed. "I'm going to get to the bottom of this, and when I do, you're gonna pay," Pacifica literally hissed, and then slithered away.   
        "Is there anyone  _else_ that has to introduce themselves to us?" Dipper cried, exasperated.   
        "Why, just lil' ol' me!" greeted a voice.   
  
                                                                                                                                     
  
        "Eugh, Gideon," Mabel sneered. "What do you want?"  
        "Well, my darlin' Mabel, I thought you'd like to know that I am now a vampire," Gideon smiled at that, revealing pearly white fangs that jutted out over his lower lip."  
        "Well now at least your pasty complexion makes sense," Dipper remarked.  
        "Dawg! Nice one!" Soos cheered, high-fiving him.   
        "How are you not burning up in the sun, Gideon?" Mabel asked.  
        "That's what my lil' ol' parasol is for, my majestic mermaid," the little snot said, twirling the black sun umbrella that he carried in his arm.  
        Mabel gagged. "Vampires are  _so_ overrated, you little troll. Plus, you're not even  _close_ to being the hot kind."  
        She was right- Gideon's skin was as white as his gelled up hair, and he had bat looking, pointy ears instead of regular ones. Plus, his skin didn't even sparkle!  
        "Soos, can we leave before anyone else shows up?" Dipper asked, ignoring Gideon now.  
        "Yeah, I've seen enough."  
  
                                                                                                /\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\        
  
        Later, at the Mystery Shack, the five of them (Soos, Wendy, the twins, and Stan) were all in the living room. Mabel was furiously pondering creative ways to keep the shack running despite this setback. Grunkle Stan had commissioned her to think of something (if it was good enough, she would get another industrial sized tub of sprinkles!) amazing, and Mabel would not let him down.   
        It looked like Dipper was about to say something depressing when the idea sprung into Mabel's mind.   
        "I got it!" she exclaimed, splashing her tail in excitement. "We can put fake buttons and zippers and stuff on ourselves so it looks like we're just in really good costumes, and that will all be part of the "Mystery" of the Shack! Imagine; a werewolf cashier, and a mermaid selling you tickets!" The vision enveloped Mabel's mind.  
        Stan snapped, jumping in the demolished armchair that he refused to throw away (it couldn't stand the weight of his new stone body) and making it tremble. "That's brilliant, kid! And we can charge them  _twice_ as much, because our costumes are so good!"   
        "Can we do that tomorrow, though?" Wendy asked, "It's way past quitting time, and I want dinner."   
        "Yeah, yeah. Wendy and Soos, you can go home."  
        "Bye, Mr. Pines!" called Soos as he trailed behind Wendy.   
         
        As Mabel lay in the bathtub, which was deemed her new bed at night, she smiled. Tomorrow was going to be the start of a whole new scene in the insane musical that was her life. Well, it wasn't really a musical. But, with any luck, and a whole lot of glitter, Mabel hoped it would be soon as she drifted off.  
  



	6. Sock Opera; Part I

  So, so much had happened.  
        It was actually crazy; the amount of things that had occurred in the past week. A huge party was held at the Shack to "celebrate" being monsters, in which Dipper accidentally raised the dead and government agents had visited (Grunkle Stan convinced them that  _that_ day had been Summerween and that the townsfolk were really into it). Dipper, Wendy, Soos, and Mabel discovered a hidden bunker that belonged to the author in the woods, and the horrifying images of the Shapeshifter that inhabited it still haunted Dipper's memory. Just yesterday Pacifica and Mabel had a miniature golf tournament, aided by creepy golf-ball people. All Dipper wanted to do now was relax in the library with his sister.  
        They sat in a corner of the building, with afternoon sunlight streaming through the stained glass windows. Dipper gazed at the laptop, focused. Soos had found the ancient device in the Bunker three days ago and Dipper was determined, even as a Cervitaur (he had looked up the proper word for Deer-taur) to find the password to the computer. Maybe it told who the author was, maybe it held information about how to get everyone back to normal. Either way, Dipper  _needed_ to know.  
        "Okay, Mabel," Dipper announced after finding a cryptology book, "This one says that there are about 7.2 million eight-letter words. I'll type, you read..."  
        However, his twin was distracted with something, and he vaguely remembered the mermaid saying something about a cute guy and Mermando, and was shocked when he turned to find the space where she had been empty. She was rolling in her wheel chair (that was hooked up to water tanks) over to a gathering of monster-fied children who were watching some guy with a ponytail, whom, he realized, was actually a living puppet himself, give a puppet show.  _Oh god_...  
        "Mabel?"  
           
  
                                                                                                                                     
  
        Mabel rolled over on her wheelchair, flicking her shimmering pink tail. The puppet-boy was  _gorgeous_. His ponytail was blonde and shining in the light from the window, and his eyes were a crystalline blue. Mabel already knew that he was a good singer  _and_ worked well with kids, along with being supremely attractive. Any remorse she had over Mermando vanished as she tried out her latest pick-up line.  
        "Hey, guess who's Mabel? I am. Care to learn more? I bet you do... heh... you like to learn," she giggled and then nearly crashed into a bookshelf.  
        Wheeling around, she re approached, cursing her wheelchair. Sure, she was  _used_ to having a tail, but she didn't really like it too much anymore. "And I'm back!" She gave an award winning (not to mention braces filled) smile.  
        "Oh, hey, I'm Gabe," the boy said, "master of puppets, as well as one myself."  
        They shook hands.   
        "You're amazing with those puppets!" the girl gushed, her tail swishing involuntarily with excitement.   
        "Really? Most people think puppets are dumb, or for kids, or something," Gabe the puppet sighed.   
        "No way! I'm puppet crazy! Some people call me Puppet Crazy Mabel!" she lied.  
        "Oh really? When's your next puppet show?"  
  
                                                                                                                                   
          
        Dipper was on his 28th attempt when Mabel returned, sitting awkwardly on a chair with his deer legs. "So, how'd it go?" he wondered halfheartedly after yet another password was rejected.   
        "Er, how hard do you think it would be to put on a puppet show with full sets, lights, and costumes by Friday?" Mabel asked sheepishly.  
        The laptop buzzed again as Dipper's heart skipped a beat. "What? Mabel, are you serious?" he asked, turning to face his semi-aquatic sibling with a look of disbelief.   
        "I don't know what happened! I got lost in his eyes and his ponytail and I'm gonna be  _so_ embarrassed on Friday if I don't have anything!" Mabel cried.  
        "But what about cracking the password?" Dipper argued, crestfallen. "You know, Mystery Twins?"  
        "Please, Dipper," Mabel begged, "Just help me with this for JUST a couple of days and then I'll help you with your laptop! Pretty please, please please please please!"  
        Dipper raised an eyebrow.  
        "It's for love, Dipper," Mabel added as an afterthought in a hushed tone, widening her eyes.   
        Dipper couldn't say no to his sister's pleading. "Oh alright, okay," Dipper agreed.  
        Mabel cheered, causing a scene in the library, nearly picking him up (though he was certainly too heavy with his deer body).   
        They were then asked to leave by the librarian. Upon exiting, Dipper expressed his excitement for figuring out the code. However, as he trotted out of the room, he had the slightest feeling that somehow, he was being followed...  
  
                                                                                                                                          
  
        Mabel and Dipper entered the Mystery Shack, the former with a huge box of socks and craft supplies on her lap, determined to get started on her big show. Some tourists glanced at their arrival and scoffed. Mabel even heard a lady with a very sunburned face murmur about how fake their costumes looked. That was how Grunkle Stan was keeping the shack running; it was now a museum  _about_ monsters and the unexplained that was also  _run_ by similar creatures. The idiotic tourists, fortunately, just believed that the costumes were super fake as Grunkle Stan took care to make it look that way, but Mabel couldn't quite see how they were fooled.   
          
        For the next few days, Mabel, Dipper, and everyone that could helped to create her Sock Opera. Mabel always had glitter glue in her hair and at least one googly eye stuck to her forehead. She was distantly aware of Dipper's constant, late night attempts to crack the code on the computer. She fretted for her twin's health but was laser-focused on getting her big project completed by that Friday. It had to be perfect; she had to impress Gabe.   
        Thursday afternoon, the twins, Soos, and Wendy were settled in the den of the Shack, its yellow carpet covered in every inch with socks, glitter, paste, pom poms, and everything under the arts-and-crafts sun. Waddles ran rampant, covered with stockings, while Mabel composed songs, and the other three worked on the puppets themselves. The fabrication process was going swimmingly, to Mabel, even if Soos' clay was sort of sticking to everything and how Wendy and Dipper's fur got in the glue.  
        She made a wonderful speech about how great the play was going to be, and they had finished every puppet by the end of that day. After a dinner of Stan's not-so-delicious meatloaf (though Dipper ate a salad, he was a vegetarian due to his deer-like digestive system), Mabel lay in her tub. Stan had found one (though he wouldn't say where) and put it in the twins' room in place of Mabel's bed. Mabel had covered it with stickers and fairy lights.  
        She furrowed her brow, glancing at her sibling. He was curled on his bed, papers scattered everywhere, with that dreaded laptop sitting in front of him. Dark circles had formed under his eyes, and Mabel realized that she wasn't the only one who had been working tirelessly over the past three days. He was getting rather frustrated now, having flopped down in defeat.  
        "Don't stay up all night, Dipper, last time you got this sleep- deprived you tried to eat your own shirt," Mabel warned.   
        Dipper was absentmindedly, to her surprise and amusement, chewing on the collar of his shirt. Startled, the boy spat it out.   
        "Just a few more tries," he reassured, rubbing his eyes.  
  
                                                                                                                               
                                                                                                                               
  
        Dipper ventured outside, so as to not disturb his sister. He, in his monstrous state, couldn't really get to his spot on the roof anymore. Instead he set off for the forest, flashlight in hand, with the Fluvius Cantatis on the brain. The laptop  _surely_ had the cure for this curse. He knew it, and he knew that he would figure out the password tonight. Dipper was certain.  
        Eventually, on his nimble, cloven hooves, Dipper made it to the creek without even realizing it. The moon was full and high in the sky, and Dipper realized that it was awfully late. Even so, with the chilly air, he just pulled his navy sweatshirt closer around him and settled on a patch of grass near the banks of the stream. After a few more failed tries, Dipper had had it.  
          _BZZZ!_  
        "Ugh! I can't take that sound anymore!" Dipper cried into the darkness. He pounded on the laptop in frustration. "I- Hate- You- Sound!" With each collision, the noise only was heard again.   
        The deer boy yawned. "There has to be some shortcut or clue." He rubbed his eyes, thinking, "Who would know about secret codes?"  
        All of a sudden, as it he had caused it, the breeze picked up, blowing leaves around. Only now did Dipper realize how dark it was in the woods, and how utterly  _alone_ he was, and his heart began to race. Frantic, he scrambled to get up, slipping on his still unsteady four legs.   
        A faint buzzing sound was heard over the wind, and, suddenly, a spotlight was on him. The young cervitaur whipped around to see the full moon through a clearing in the trees, but with a narrow pupil on it, shining directly on him. The eye looked familiar...  
        The forest faded to black and white as a figure assembled before him, bright blue blocks forming into a triangle shape, interlocking as they turned yellow, the shape grew limbs and a black bow tie, along with a top hat. The eye closed, and fluttered open to reveal none other than...  
         _Oh no_.  
        "I think I know a guy!" Bill Cipher announced, coming into existence. Dipper must have fallen asleep, but he still stood there, gaping. "Well, well well," the demon said, his nasally voice echoing into the dreamscape, swinging around a golden cane, "You're awfully persistent, Pine Tree,"  _that nickname_. "Hats off to you!" As the triangle's words were uttered, he tipped his hat, causing the hole world to go upside down. "Say, you look different," Bill acknowledged, "I don't remember you having so many legs. Ah, well, I'm quite fond of deer, you know. Their teeth make for wonderful mantelpieces!"  
        "You again!" Dipper cried, struggling to his feet- er- hooves.  
        "Did ya' miss me? Admit it, you missed me," he said, and probably would have smiled if he had a mouth.  
        "Hardly! You worked with Gideon! You tried to destroy my uncle's mind!"   
        Cipher vanished and appeared behind him. "It was just a job, kid! No hard feelings! I've been keeping an  _eye_ on you, since then," he explained, transforming for a moment into a huge, red eye, "And I gotta say, I'm impressed!"  
        "Really?" Dipper asked, confused.   
        "You deserve a reward! Here, have a head that's always screaming!"   
        The pyramid clapped, revealing a creepy disembodied head that shrieked before unraveling layer by layer and disappearing. He chuckled as Dipper flinched, his ears flicking.   
        "The point is, I like you. Hows about you let me give you a hint, huh? I only ask for a small...  _favor..._ in return!" His eye glowed cyan and his hand lit on fire with the same color.  
        "I'd never do a favor for you!" Dipper cried, finding ground on the soft ground, "Don't forget who defeated you last time!" Dipper realized, with a glance, that he and the demon were both rather close to the dream-world Fluvius. Dipper wondered...  
        "Right, you 'defeated' me," Bill said, reappearing behind Dipper again. He was about to say something else when, Dipper, acting on adrenaline and impulse, backed away into the stream.   
        "Yeah, and I'm gonna defeat you again!" Dipper cried, now stepping into the water. He didn't care what would happen to him. Only what would happen to-  
        "Woah, woah, kid! What are ya' doing?" Bill cried.   
        Without another word, Dipper carelessly dropped the laptop into the muck, and cupped water in his hands. Before the dream demon could make a move, Dipper splashed the cursed water onto him.  
        Bill erupted into crackling blue electricity, emitting screams and shouts before yelling, "YOU IDIOT! YOU HAVE NO IDEA WHAT YOU'VE COST ME!"  
        But then the world went black.  
 


	7. Sock Opera: Intermission

  Warm, golden sunlight filtered in through the lone, triangular window of the Pines' bedroom, hitting Mabel's face. This caused her to wake from her sleep. She blinked a few times, stuck in a drowsy haze, before she realized what day it was; the day of the play!  
Mabel shot up, water sloshing in her tub. "Dipper! Dipper get up and help me-"  
        The girl faltered as she realized something awful. In fact, as she sat there in her bathtub, with the event of her big puppet show looming over her, this was the worst possible thing that could have ever happened.   
        Mabel's breathing began to quicken as she stared at the empty bed across from her. It was much too early for her brother to be up, especially after staying up so late every night. It was much too early for his bed to be empty, and exactly as he had left it the night before. All of the papers and books scattered on the rumpled blue bedspread were in the same spots. The bed had not even been slept in, which truly erased all optimism from Mabel's young mind.   
        "GRUNKLE STAAAN!" she called.   
        What came after was the loud thudding of her gargoyle grunkle coming up the stairs quickly. He burst through the door, yellow eyes searching the room for trouble, only in his undershirt and striped boxers, and, of course, his fez.   
        "What is it, Mabel?" His gaze fell upon her twin's vacant bed. "Where's your brother?"  
        "That's just it," Mabel replied softly, "I don't know."

                                                                                                                                     
  
        Birds were screeching outside the house.  _Shut up_ , Dipper thought, rolling over. At least he was in his nice, warm bed and not-  
        Dipper's eyes shot open when he realized that he was  _not_ in his nice warm bed and he  _certainly_ was not near the Shack. The cervitaur was in the middle of the woods, right next to the Fluvius. The laptop from the bunker lay in the muck of the bank of the stream, most likely ruined.   
         _What had happened_?  
        Dipper scrambled to retrieve the old computer, stepping cautiously in the mud to pull it out and place it on the fallen log where he had been resting against. A bramble had nestled itself in Dipper's fur, and he pulled it out with a grimace. He supposed that he had fallen asleep here last night, and simply never returned to the Shack.  _Crap_ , he thought,  _Grunkle Stan's gonna be pissed, and Mabel's gonna_ freak  _out_.   
        Briskly, he made to return to the Shack, having vaguely remembered the way that he came last night. However, he had barely moved five deer-paces before his keen deer ears picked up the sound of rustling in a nearby shrub. The fluffy protrusions twitched on his head, straining to hear more. The movement was of something large; no small forest rodent or even a gnome. Slowly, Dipper turned to face the shrubbery, his heart hammering in his chest. Whatever this was, he could surely deal with it. He had the journal in his vest pocket and a pretty good brain in his head.   
Something yellow flashed behind the bush, followed by some grunts and groaning that sounded very... human.   
        "Hello?" Dipper asked, beginning to sweat with nerves.   
        The thing stood up. Rather, it wasn't a thing at all. It was a human being, a young man by the looks of it. He had an angular face and bright blonde hair that was spiked in the front and topped with a black top hat. The guy wore a yellow tuxedo with a pyramid looking pattern on the coat, and everything else black, which contrasted interestingly with his tan skin. As he turned, Dipper gasped when he saw that one of his eyes was covered by a triangle-shaped eye patch, and the other eye was what really terrified him. The iris was yellow and the pupil was practically a slit, surrounded by long eyelashes. The person seemed just as startled as Dipper when he caught sight of the creature before him.   
        "Pine Tree?" he asked, in a voice that was so, so terribly familiar.  
        "Bill?!" gasped Dipper, eyes wide.   
        "Why do I feel so..." 'Bill' looked at himself. "Oh  _hell_  no," he said, turning to then look at the creek. "There's something in this water, isn't there? It's what turned you into a deer kid and me into... aw jeez... a  _meatsack_  like everyone else."   
        This was definitely Bill Cipher, and the creek must have turned him into a human! Dipper vaguely recalled a line from the journal saying that the creek could do such a thing, but he didn't think that it was powerful enough to work on a  _demon_.   
        "This was all  _you,_ Pine Tree! Kid, you have no idea what you've done. You've... you've made me  _human!_  I've never felt more humiliated.  _NOW_ how am I supposed to do ANYTHING?"   
        Bill's one visible eye actually turned red. Dipper supposed that it couldn't  _totally_  make him into a human. Some of his demonic qualities were still present.   
        "Well, now that you're no longer in the Mindscape, you have a physical and visible presence," thought Dipper.   
        Bill stopped his rant. "You're right, Pine Tree." He smiled a devious smile. His teeth seemed sharper than they should have been.           
         _Had he said that aloud?_    
        "Give me the Journal, kid," Bill said suddenly. "Give it to me or I'll  _take_ it from you. Because I can."  
        The demon/human/whatever stepped closer to the cervitaur. His deer half took over, forcing him to snatch the laptop and prance away in as fast as his legs could carry him, surprisingly nimble through the underbrush. He had to get back to the Shack, and tell Grunkle Stan and Mabel what had happened, so they could all do something about Bill.   
        The building was coming into view, and he heard shouts from his great uncle and sister. They were calling for him.           
        "Dipper!" Mabel called, "DIPPER, COME OUT OF THE WOODS!"  
        "C'mon kid! Where are you?" shouted Stan.   
        Dipper also picked up Bill's frantic shouts behind him, footsteps picking up speed and gaining. He was almost there, close enough to call back.   
        "GRUNKLE STAN!" he cried. "MABEL!"           
        Both of them turned, shocked and confused to see him. Dipper was sure he looked ridiculous; a half sweaty twelve year old, frantic looking boy with his hat nearly falling off half deer, arriving at full speed, clutching an ancient laptop in his left hand.   
        "Kid, what are you..."  
        Dipper cut off Grunkle Stan by crashing into him, which was much more painful for Dipper than it was for Stan, given he was made of stone. Stan helped his nephew up and asked him what the heck was going on.   
        "Bill ... human ... woods ... chasing ... THERE!" Dipper panted, yelling the last word, for Bill was now coming into view, a furious and tired looking guy in a yellow and black tuxedo.  
        Grunkle Stan looked bewildered, but understood that this brightly colored man was chasing after his great-nephew.   
        Bill stopped short once he reached the clearing that was the beginning of the Shack's property line and took in the sight before him; a mermaid girl with a strange contraption that was keeping her breathing, an old and angry looking gargoyle, and a panicked cervitaur that all looked straight at him.   
        "Ah! Well, the whole Pines' trio is together, heh heh," Bill quipped, out of breath. "Damn, these flesh cages are so hindering..."   
        He took a moment to breathe, and in that moment, Grunkle Stan walked over to him and delivered a very, very painful looking left hook to his face, knocking him out cold. 


	8. Sock Opera: Act II

"What the heck is going on here?" Mabel wondered aloud. So much had just happened! First, Dipper comes prancing through the woods all sweaty and gross, with the laptop all full of muck, not to mention. Next thing  they knew, some yellow dude was following him and Grunkle Stan punched him out cold!  
        Dipper took a minute to regain his bearings after crashing into Stan, which must have been painful given he was hundreds of pounds of solid granite. Once his breathing had evened, he began to explain.   
        "Last night, I was trying to figure out the password to this thing," the cervitaur said, holding up the laptop, "and I decided to head outside so I didn't keep you up all night. I guess I lost track of where I was going but I ended up by the Fluvius."  
        "Thats the stream that got us into this mess, yeah?" Grunkle Stan interrupted.  
        Dipper nodded and continued, pacing frantically. "And I guess I fell asleep because I had a dream with Bill in it." Now, he was talking moreso to his sister than his Grunkle, since he couldn't possibly know who Bill was. "And he was talking about something, and then I splashed him with the water in the dreamscape, and then I passed out. When I woke up, this guy was there and he tried to take my journal!"   
        Mabel wheeled over and looked closer at the young man out cold in the dirt. He looked so familiar yet at the same time so foreign. He had an eyepatch and a bright yellow tuxedo (was that a pyramid print?) and a top hat was strewn a little ways from him.   
        "Wait- is that  _Bill?"_ Mabel asked, horrified.   
        "I dunno who 'Bill' is," Grunkle Stan said, "but if he thinks he can mess with Stan Pines he's got another thing comin'. I'm calling the cops."  
  
                                                                                                                                 
  
        Dipper's mind raced. If Stan called the cops, then Bill would no longer be a problem. However, he was still at least partially demonic, and he could probably break out anyway. Besides, Bill was in his weakest form; maybe Dipper could get information out of him. For example; the author of the journals, or the password to the laptop!  
        "Uh... Grunkle Stan, there's no need for that... maybe he thought I was a real deer and was hunting?" Dipper suggested. His voice, as usual, cracked, to his dismay.   
        Stan turned around, his yellow eyes looking at him strangely. Something flashed in his stone face that Dipper couldn't get a read on; something almost like his Grunkle knew more than he let on. "Whatever," he grumbled at last, and stomped over to the Shack. Stomping, after all, was the only thing he could do with his inhuman weight.  
        "Dipper, are you  _crazy_?" Mabel asked, her brown eyes alight with worry. "How am I supposed to put on 'Sock Opera: A Glove Story' with Bill Cipher running amok?"  
        "Don't worry, Mabel," Dipper comforted, "I'll take care of Bill, while you can continue to fabricate your play. Maybe he can give me the password to the laptop."  
        "Dippingsauce, I don't know if a password is going to help you at this point," Mabel pointed out.  
        Dipper looked at the computer that had been clutched in his grip. He didn't realize that he had been holding it tight enough that his knuckles went white. The machine was half covered in sludge from the bank of the creek, and it was continuing to drip onto Dipper's front hoof.   
        The boy sucked in a breath. "Hey, it  _might_ still work."  
        Mabel's eyes trailed over her brother skeptically. "O _-kay_ ," she said. "Candy and Grenda are gonna be here soon. Just... don't do anything stupid, okay bro-bro?"  
        Dipper chuckled semi-sheepishly. "I won't Mabel."   
        "I'm watching you," Mabel joked, "through my  _skepticals._ "  
        With that, the mermaid wheeled away. Dipper turned to the unconscious man before him. On a whim, he decided to drag him behind a bush, at least for the moment. He wondered who could help him with this problem. The only people who knew about Bill were himself, Mabel, and...  _Soos._  
          
        "Soos! Soos!" Dipper cried as he made his way through the bustling gift shop of the Mystery Shack.   
        Tourists of all shapes and sizes milled about, looking at Stan's phony supernatural phenomena and the knick knacks that littered the store.   
        "Mommy, look at the deer boy!" one kid called out, pointing at Dipper as he pushed pass.   
        "Suzie, don't be silly. That's just a costume," the child's mother scolded. "Look, you can see the seams."  
        Dipper blushed slightly. He hated being the center of attention, especially when his lower half was that of a deer and he had fluffy ears protruding from either side of his head. Finally, though, he saw the attraction's handyman working on the vending machine. By the looks of it, he was not doing so much fixing as he was eating the easily accessible snacks.   
        "Soos!" Dipper called.   
        The clay golem turned, little drops of clay finding their way onto the floor whenever he moved. "What's up, dude?"  
        "I... uh... need you to help me with something outside," Dipper said, making a face that implied that it was an urgent matter. Who knew how long it would be until Bill came out of his comatose state? Dipper hoped that the answer was never.  
        "Sure thing, dawg," Soos replied.   
        He closed the fiberglass wall of the vending machine and screwed it back on, and then followed Dipper out into the side yard of the Shack, where Bill lay behind foliage.   
        "So, do you remember Bill Cipher?"  
        "The triangle guy?" Soos inquired, making a triangle with his fingers and holding it over one eye.  
        "Yeah, that's the one." Dipper explained his predicament to Soos.  
        "So, he's a human, and he's knocked out, over there?" Soos summarized.   
        "Yeah. I don't know what to do with him..."  
        The cervitaur walked carefully on his cloven hooves over to where the man in yellow was, hoping not to wake him. Soos followed, attempting to be as careful but not exactly doing so as he stuck to everything.   
        "We could put him in the attic," Soos suggested.   
        "No!" Dipper hissed, "I don't want a demon in my bedroom!"  
        With all the commotion, Bill's one visible eyelid fluttered. Dipper and Soos stepped back.   
        "Bro, what do we do?" Soos asked nervously.   
        Bill Cipher stood up. "Well, well, well," he greeted in his echoing voice. "If it isn't good ol' Pine Tree and Question Mark. Yanno, Stan packs a better punch than he gives himself credit for! I actually feel pain!" Bill rejoiced, "It's wonderful!"   
        "Bill, what do you want?" Dipper asked, slightly irritated. "Why did you appear to me last night in the first place?"  
        "Well, the circumstances of that don't matter too much anymore, 'cause now I  _have_ a flesh sack, and, as you so kindly pointed out, a physical presence outside of the mindscape. Isn't that swell?"  
        The demon-man noticed his signature hat on the ground and picked it up with disgust, flicking off the debris before placing it atop his blonde head.   
        "So, now," Bill added, "all I need to do is procure that journal of yours, and maybe that laptop, too. Say, you're holding it right now! How's about you give it to me, huh?" His mouth stretched into a grin filled with pointed teeth, like a shark's.   
        "Why would he do that?" Soos questioned.   
        "Yeah? What do you want with it anyway?" Dipper added.   
        "Doesn't matter. Just gimme!" Bill commanded. Before Dipper could retreat, Bill lunged for it and snatched the computer out of Dipper's grasp. He promptly threw it to the ground and smashed it with his fancy shoe-clad foot into a million little pieces, laughing maniacally the whole time.   
        Dipper could do nothing. He was baffled. All of those nights spent trying to figure out the password were diminished now that it was destroyed. Broken, he sank to the ground, his legs curling underneath him, trying to scoop up what remained of the laptop and put it into his backpack.   
        "Bro!" Soos exclaimed, "that was so not-rad! Why would you want the laptop if you were just gonna smash it?"  
        "Huh. Question Mark, I have ta say, you're much more inquisitive than you look. Let's just say that Pine Tree was getting a little  _too_ clever for my liking. I can't have him getting into that old thing, not with what's on it! Now all I have to do is get Journal 3, which should be a pinch!" Bill explained with a demonic chuckle.   
        Dipper stood up slowly. He would  _not_ let Bill get the journal. Never.  
        "Over my dead body!" he shouted triumphantly, shaking with rage. Who did Bill think he was? Destroying a week's worth of tireless nights?  
        "That can be arranged," Bill smiled. "Oh! Here come's Shooting Star!"   
        Bill dove back into the bush, and Dipper wondered why.   
          
                                                                                                                                         
  
        Mabel balanced a stack of boxes on her tail as she carefully wheeled out of the shack and over to Soos' truck, where he said she could put her things for the show. Grenda was wheelchair-ridden as well, but Candy typically pushed her because she, being a kappa, had legs. Grenda had more boxes with her, but they would still have to make several trips to get everything in the truck. When she could, Wendy helped as well.   
        Gabe the puppet had already stopped by to see what was happening with her show. This, of course, had caused her to freak out, and the three friends worked at a rapid pace to fix all of the last minute details. Now, though, it was nearing showtime.  
        Dipper and Soos, she saw, were standing by the bush were Bill's body was. She supposed they were figuring out a plan, and hoped that they could be done with it by the time the show started. On her last trip before they were set to leave, Mabel remembered that she was using Dipper's journal for the wedding scene.   
        "Soos!" she called from her wheelchair.  
        The man-child whipped around, splattering clay on a nearby tree. He looked panicked, for whatever reason. Dipper turned as well, and Mabel was bewildered to find that they both wore the same expression. She wondered what was going on with Bill, but, in a split second, decided that for the moment, her production was her priority.   
        "Yeah, dude?" Soos asked from across the yard.   
        "We have to leave very soon!" she reminded him.  
        Soos turned and said something to Dipper, who nodded, and paled, which confused Mabel. Afterward, Soos made his way over to the truck to start it up. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Candy and Grenda get into the backseat, and knew she had to hurry. The clock was ticking, and she couldn't be late for the show!  
          
                                                                                                                                      

          
        Mabel and her friends had just finished packing for the show, and his twin had just taken Soos away from him, stripping him of any allies in facing Bill. Speaking of the demon, he was still hiding in the bush, and Dipper had a sneaking suspicion that he didn't want to be seen for a very good reason.   
        "Dipper!" Mabel called from the other side of the yard. Dipper looked at her, and the mermaid began to babble rapidly, knowing she was in a hurry. "I'musingyourjournalintheweddingsceneoftheshowandI'mgonnagobeforeyouprocessthissentence! Bye!"  
        Mabel made her way over to Soos' truck and hopped in, and they sped off toward the theater.   
        Dipper took a second to figure out what his sister had said. Mabel was using the journal in her play...  
        From beside him, the bush shook, and Bill stepped out of it, picking the leaves from his marigold suit. Dipper blanched when Cipher's mouth curled into a malicious grin. He looked at Dipper, and his yellow eye glowed cyan.   
        "See you at the show!" he laughed.   
        Next, Bill took off, running after the truck and getting closer and closer to obtaining the journals.   
  
          
  


          
        

 


	9. Sock Opera: Finale

 

Dipper stood in the lot on his four hooves, paralyzed with shock. _The laptop. Bill smashed it. Bill destroyed it. The secrets. Gone. All those nights. Gone. So tired. Wasted nights working on the laptop. Bill Cipher is a human. He smashed the laptop. It’s gone—_

The young cervitaur was jolted from his thoughts by a tap on his shoulder. His nose picked up a familiar scent; piney mixed with some sort of flowers and… wolf?

“Dip, you okay? You seem a little spaced out,” Wendy’s kind voice came from behind him. Her forepaw/hand/whatever was resting on his shoulder lightly, as if unsure whether physical contact was needed.

Dipper shook himself out of his shock. “Uh, yeah, Wendy. I’m fine. I just… I need a ride to Mabel’s play!” he blurted.

“Oh! I’m hitching a ride with Stan. There’s totally room in the backseat.”

Dipper swallowed. “That would be great!”

“Cool. C’mon, dude, let’s go. We don’t want to be late for Mabel’s grand production!” the teen half joked.

The boy gave a chuckle and followed his friend to _El Diablo_ , his uncle’s prized 1965 red Cadillac DeVille. Stan was already in the front seat, revving up the engine when the werewolf girl and Dipper slid into the backseat. It was difficult and awkward, now, for him to sit properly in the white upholstered seat and buckle up, so instead he simply stood on the floor of the car and latched onto the front seat, hoping that the car didn’t crash.

“Either of you have any idea what this thing is?” Grunkle Stan asked, pulling out of the dirt driveway and onto paved road.

Dipper faintly heard Wendy begin to attempt to explain Mabel’s show to her boss but was distracted by movement in the forest as the car sped by. Every now and then, a flash of obvious bright yellow in between the natural greens and browns of the trees and foliage. All he could do was grow paler as his heart beat faster and faster, praying to whatever force possible that they would make it to the theatre before Bill did. 

When they arrived, they found that a surprising amount of people had shown up for the play. Dipper wasn’t sure how Mabel had spread the word, but it seemed like the whole town was at the theatre. He didn’t see any traces of Bill, but that didn’t mean that he wasn’t here. Grunkle Stan parked, and Dipper raced out of the car, much to the confusion of Wendy and Stan.

He made his way through the throng of monsterfied citizens and eventually in through the front door. Mabel wasn’t charging for tickets, and everyone knew that he was her brother, anyway.

Inside, the lights were dimmed and the curtains drawn on the stage. He knew that his twin was behind those curtains, and crept through the backstage entrance. In the wings, there was no sign of Mabel. However, he did spot Candy, who he hoped would know where his journal was. 

“Candy!” Dipper called, trotting over.

The kappa turned abruptly and gave him a questioning look. “What are you doing back here? The show is about to begin!”

Dipper took a deep breath. “Candy, I _really_ need the book that you’re using in the wedding scene. Like now. Do you, by any chance, know where I could find it?”

Candy stared at him for a moment from behind her thick glasses before speaking, her words slightly muddled by the water filter she wore to breathe. “It’s up in the cake, but you can’t go up to the rafters unless you have to,” she explained. The frowned a little, and then her scaly face lit up. “Oh! We need a reverend! You can play it, and then you will have to get the book!”

Dipper winced. He _really_ wanted no part in this play. But if it meant he’d get the journal before Bill… 

“Alright,” Dipper said, “I’ll do it.”

“Perfect,” Candy said, “I mean, we were going to make you do it anyway. Your costume is in the trunk over there,” the kappa girl gestured to a red box near the dressing room door. 

She parted her lips to say more, when something crashedfrom the other side of the stage. Candy muttered something in Korean. Dipper inferred that it wasn’t pleasant. With one last look at Dipper, she sped off in the direction of the noise, leaving Dipper to himself. 

On quick hooves, Dipper located Grenda, who, he had to admit, seemed rather preoccupied. Two of her tentacle legs manned a light panel, two more scribbled notes on a clipboard, and four kept her upright. The cecaelia stared intently at the stage while speaking rapidly into her headset, presumably to Candy or his sister. Speaking of Mabel, she was nowhere to be seen. 

However, that was the least of Dipper’s concerns. Grenda stood firmly in front of the flimsy staircase that lead to the rafters, and, of course, his journal. Upon Dipper’s arrival, Grenda fell silent and looked at Dipper. 

“You can’t go up here!” she scolded him. 

Dipper’s tail flicked in annoyance. “Why not? I need to go up there!” 

All of a sudden, the lights flickered and Grenda turned away. “The show is about to begin!” she shouted into her headset, “Please turn off all cell phones… unless you’re texting me, cuties!” 

Dipper shook his head. He walked over to the edge to peek out of the curtains. Perhaps Bill would be in the audience, biding his time. Music came on onstage, with Mabel beginning to sing and colorful lights flashing. 

The cervitaur pulled the curtain back slightly to get a glimpse at the audience. Everything looked normal… wait. 

He nearly puked when he saw them. Wendy, Soos, and Stan all sat in a row, with Grunkle Stan holding up a small camcorder. Seated next to an uncomfortable looking Wendy was Bill. Dipper’s keen ears picked up bits of the conversation over the music and pyrotechnics. 

The yellow-clad young man was leaning over Wendy and talking to Soos. “Hey, Soos, wanna hear the exact time and date of your death?” 

Soos looked around awkwardly. “Uh, okay!” 

Dipper shivered and turned back around. Grenda was still intently guarding the stairs. Mabel’s voice rang from the stage, “Thank you mayor, I know I’m great…”

“Grenda,” he hissed, “ _please_ let me up!” 

“Hold your horses!” she commanded. “You’ll disrupt the show! The only one allowed up there is Mabel!” 

“But I’m the reverend!” Dipper argued, frustrated. He pawed the floor with a hoof. 

“No but’s. Go enjoy the show!” 

One of Grenda’s many tentacles reached out and pushed Dipper away with a surprising amount of force. He sighed, walking away defeatedly. He _had_ to get the journal! Then, his mind began churning. If only Mabel could get it, he would just have to wait until intermission. He went into Mabel’s ‘dressing room’ on the side of the wings and threw his reverend costume haphazardly on a random chair and settled himself on the ground. All he had to do was wait, and hope that Mabel could get the journal before the demon. 

 

 

Mabel was parched after act one. Not only was she singing a song every other minute, but it was also extremely hot under the lights. Being half-fish didn’t help, either. At intermission, she wheeled into her dressing room and stopped by the vanity, changing her water filter and taking a long swig from the water fountain herself. 

“Okay Mabel, you can do this,” she said to herself, gasping, “only 36 more music numbers.” 

While she took another drink at the fountain, she heard something rustling in the room. 

“Mabel!” came a voice.

Her heart stopped as she stopped drinking. Slowly, she turned around and spat out her water.

“Dipper!” Mabel cried, “What are you doing back here?” 

“Mabel, you have to help me!” her brother said. 

“Dip, have you been creeping back here the whole time? You’re not even watching the-“

“Mabel! You have to listen to me! Bill smashed the laptop and now he’s here, and he’s after the journals! You have to get it before Bill destroys it. It’s the only way to get us back to normal!”

“But my cue is coming up any minute!” Mabel cried. Then, there was a knock on the door. Mabel’s heart raced as she shoved Dipper behind a rack of costumes. “Hide!”

The door creaked open to reveal the golden-haired puppet boy, holding a bouquet of flowers and his hand puppets, and wearing a warm smile on his wooden face. 

“Hey, Mabel, do you have a moment?”

“Gabe!” Mabel gasped, flustered. 

“Mabel, it’s clear to me now that you really love puppets. I mean, you went all off. And if you stick the ending, well, maybe later you can join me for biscotti?”

_He has a car?!_ Mabel thought. “You drive a biscotti?” she asked, excited. She was doing it! Gabe was impressed! She was going to date him and then they were going to get married and have musical children together!

The light’s flickered, signaling the show was about to continue. 

“I’ll be waiting,” Gabe reminded, and gave Mabel a smile that melted her insides. 

After he closed the door behind him, she broke into a huge grin. “Did you hear that?” she turned to her brother, “he LOVES it!”

Dipper clambered out from behind the coat rack, gasping for air. 

“This play has to be _flawless_. Can’t we wait until after the show?”

“Mabel! Do you want us to be monsters forever? Do you want Bill to win?” Dipper shouted. 

Mabel chuckled. “I-I’m sorry, it looks adorable when you’re mad.” He did; with his fluffy little deer ears and tail. Dipper made a sound of annoyance. After giggling again, Mabel soothed, “Okay, okay, just take over for me until I get back with the book,” she laughed, “Little deer face!” 

Dipper sighed and took the puppets and went onstage to resume the show. Meanwhile, Mabel rushed to get up to the rafters before Bill could, and before Dipper botched the show anymore than he already had. Grenda carried Mabel and her chair up without question and then went back down to supervise the musical. The young mermaid quickly wheeled over to where the big cardboard cake was hung, which contained Journal 3 inside. 

It was a little ways away from the platform, but with a little reaching, Mabel was sure that she could procure it. She leaned over the railing, stretching her arm for the leather-bound book. It wasn’t working, so she snaked herself through the bars in hopes to get closer. 

“C’mon, c’mon,” she grunted. She almost had it…

Before Mabel knew what was going on, the girl slid from her wheelchair and through the rail, the lights flashing around her as she fell. Her tail hit the cake, and the two went sprawling, the former inside the latter. 

“WAAAH!” Mabel cried, nearing the stage. 

Dipper was nearly to the big wedding scene, she saw, before something pulled the rope taut and she was pulled up. Mabel gave a sigh of relief, picking up the book. “Now, to give this to Dipper and keep it away from Bill!” 

“Ohoho, but why would you want to do that?” came a high pitched, echoing voice. 

_That’s who was pulling the rope_. Mabel thought it might have been Grenda or something. But no. A young man stood there with a top hat over a mess of yellow and black hair, wearing an eyepatch and a golden tuxedo. He stared menacingly down at the mermaid, with a wicked grin plastered on his tanned face, holding the rope that kept her aloft in one hand. 

“Bill Cipher!” Mabel hissed. 

“Ssh!” warned Bill, “You wouldn’t want to ruin the show!” He jabbed a thumb in the direction of Gabe’s seat. The boy sat, intently watching. 

Mabel’s face turned into one of horror.

“Whoops! It’s slipping!” Bill said, letting go of the rope for a fraction of a second and grasping it again. “How’s about you hand that book over!” 

“No way, this is Dipper’s! I’d never give it away!” Mabel cried. 

“Hmm,” Bill continued, “You didn’t seem to have a problem using it for your own play, or ditching him when he needed you,” he urged, “so come to your senses! Give me that book or your play is ruined!” 

Bill’s expression was one that scared Mabel, his (pretty handsome) features twisted into a malicious frown. He had a point though, and for a second, as Mabel began to hand the book over, Mabel believed that her play _was_ more important. It meant everything to her…

“Theere it is,” Bill cooed. “I mean, who would sacrifice everything they’ve worked for, just for their dumb sibling?”

His laughter pulled Mabel out of the trance as she snapped to a conclusion. Bill’s gloved hands were enclosed around the top of the journal, but Mabel wasn’t ready to let go. 

“Dipper would.” 

“Hey, what?”

Mabel yanked the journal, taking Bill with it. They both spiraled down toward the stage in a blur of gold, pink, and fake-frosted cardboard. Dipper was about to end the show, Mabel realized, had she only held Bill off a little longer…

They crashed to the ground, something hard hitting her tail. Mabel felt the glass on her water-breather crack slightly. Dipper had jumped out of the way, and watched the scene, eyes wide. Mabel still had the book clutched in her fingertips. Reacting quicky, Dipper scooped his sister and the journal up and put her on his deer back, stepping back from Bill. The man got up, rubbing his head. The bowtie was askew and his hat was missing, but the demon persevered.

“You can’t stop me! I’m a being of pure energy with no weakness!” 

He lunged for the twins, and Mabel hit him over the head with the journal. He retaliated and knocked them both over, landing on top of the mermaid. 

“Yes, but you’re a human now, and everyone has one weakness… tickle tickle!” 

Mabel reached out and tickled Bill’s armpits. To her amusement, he started laughing uncontrollably. Dipper came over and pulled him off, picking up Mabel again. 

“Ha ha ha, body spasms! What are these?” 

Bill got up, coughing, but Dipper had already retreated. The cervitaur had found his sister’s wheelchair and placed her there, but then sat down. Large, dark circles were under his eyes, and he looked pooped. 

Mabel wheeled around, the book on her lap, while Bill chased her around the stage. “Little known fact about the human body,” Mabel began, “You’ve never had your own before! You can’t go as long as I can! You’re like a baby, and I’m on four mega-shots of Mabel juice!” 

Mabel went in circles and smiled as she saw Bill getting sweatier and out of breath. He was nearly panting and no longer running. 

“What is this feeling?” Bill wheezed, “My body is burning! I can’t move these stupid meat legs!” Bill stopped, “Curse you useless flesh-sticks!” He gasped, “body, shutting down… must… scratch… mosquito bites…” Bill went toppling to the ground, his knees buckling. 

Mabel didn’t notice him crawling away. Her eyes were on her brother, who weakly walked over. 

“Mabel! You did it! You got the journal back!” he celebrated.

Her eyes were on Gabe, who looked confused and hurt. Her eyes were on Grunkle Stan, who, for some reason, was still filming. 

That is, until she heard cackling. It was Bill, of course, attempting to crawl away. He stopped near the fireworks set up and began a revenge monologue. 

“This isn’t the last you’ll hear of me!” he yelled, “Big things are coming! Ya’ can’t stop me!” 

There was only one thing Mabel could do. She took out her pyrotechnic remote. Her heart sank as she realized what her actions would lead to. “I’m sorry Gabe,” she said to herself, before pressing the button and expecting only the worst. 

“Huh?” Bill wondered aloud. 

The explosions went off, and he was practically thrown into the air with one of the fireworks.

The combustions of light and color scattered, destroying all of her handiwork, all of those days spent crafting the puppets, backdrops, and props. All she had done to impress Gabe. It all exploded in a tragically beautiful display. She could only see Gabe, through the whole thing. He looked so, so sad. His favorite things were being destroyed before his very eyes. 

Mabel and Dipper both covered their ears as the final explosion sounded, leaving the auditorium in a haze of smoke and tattered streamers. Mabel thought she saw Bill run out the door, but with the amount of smoke and strobe lights, it was hard to tell for sure. The audience blinked up at the twins on the stage.

“Don’t worry,” Mabel reassured, “I’ve seen enough movies to know that this is the part where the audience thinks that it was all a part of the show and loves it. Cue applause!”

Instead, her smile fell as the crowd burst into outrage and insulting the ending of the show. They all filed out angrily, but Mabel knew that it was for the best. Eventually, only Gabe remained in a seat, a small fire behind him, and a huge one in his eyes. He stood up sharply. 

“Gabe!" Mabel laughed nervously, “Stick around for the wrap-party? We’ve got mini quiches!” 

“Don’t speak to me Mabel. You’ve made a mockery of my art form. Let’s go my loves.”

With that, he walked away and began to smooch his hand puppets. Mabel shuddered. 

“Did he just make out with his puppets?” Dipper cringed. 

Mabel winced. “I might’ve dodged a bullet there.” 

Candy rushed by, spewing something in Korean, looking like an absolute mess. The twins watched as she chased after Gabe. 

“Mabel,” Dipper began, “I’m sorry about all this. It’s my fault that Bill’s a human and that your puppets got ruined.”

Mabel frowned. “Well, one puppet survived,” she took out her lone Mabel puppet, “and she has something to say to you: ‘I’m sorry Dipper. I spent all week obsessing over a dumb guy, when the guy I should have cared about, was you.'” She gave her brother a nudge. “Mystery Twins?”

Her twin brother smiled. “Mystery Twins.”

 


	10. The Blind Eye: Part I

The next few days were nice and calm. Well, as calm as you could get in Gravity Falls. The twins and Soos had ended up fighting a possessed video game, which resulted in Soos getting together with a nice harpy girl named Melody. She was originally going to return to Portland at the end of the month, but with the monster problem, she had to stay here.

The prospect of somehow fixing the problem loomed over Dipper. He still had no idea how to reverse the effects of the Fluvius Cantatis, and the Journal was certainly not giving him any help. Neither was the laptop, for that matter, because Bill had smashed it. That was another issue that added to the weight on his shoulders- Bill Cipher was running amok as a human, doing who knows what. 

Dipper lay on his unmade bed and stared disappointedly at the laptop. Its remains sat on the desk in the middle of the room next to his pile of summer reading work.It shined a little in the midday sunlight that drifted in through the lone triangular window. Little dust particles floated in the golden light, and Dipper made a note to clean the room when the door burst open. 

Mabel wheeled in excitedly, a huge grin on her face. In her lap was a green bottle with a piece of paper curled up inside. 

“I got a note from Mermando!” she squealed. “I forgot to tell him that I’m a mermaid now! I’ll _totally_ put it in my reply! I wonder what he said?” she wondered aloud. 

Dipper sat up, making to leave. He really was not in the mood to hear a love letter addressed to his sister. He stretched his legs and had begun to trot out when Mabel turned to him. 

He stared at his sister and watched her face as she read the note. Her bright eyes and huge smile dulled into a look that reflected Dipper’s own disappointment about his carelessness with Bill. A wave of concern washed over the cervitaur.

“What’s wrong, Mabel?” he inquired tentatively. 

“It’s Mermando… he’s… he’s getting married!” Mabel cried.

All Dipper could give in reply was an exasperated expression of confusion and surprise. Noticing the look, Mabel delved into an explanation. 

“It says that he has to marry the Queen of the Manatees to prevent some sort of undersea war!” Mabel explained. She flipped the parchment over, hoping for further information. “Look, Dipper, there’s a picture of her. She’s so pretty!”

All he could see was a Manatee in a crown and dress, which Dipper didn’t think was anatomically possible. She also wasn’t pretty. Well, maybe she was, if you were a manatee. 

Mabel shifted herself into her bathtub-bed and sunk to the bottom, not caring about her sweater getting wet. “Dipper,” she sighed, “why do all of my summer romances go _horribly_ wrong? I mean, my first boyfriend turned out to be a bunch of _gnomes_ for crying out loud!”

“Mabel, I really don’t think that your crushes matter in the grand scheme of things. Remember, we have to think about the big picture and ask real questions! For example, who the heck is the author!” The words were harsh, but they were true, and Dipper, to say the least, was tired. 

Aghast, Mabel splashed up through the surface, but stopped her spiel before she had begun and flopped against the rim. She held the empty bottle over one eye and stared around the room with it. Even in her sadness, the girl couldn’t help being a little silly. 

“What’s the big deal with the author, anyway? Maybe he’s just some normal dude, or maybe he doesn’t _want_ to be found — hey, what the heck?”

Dipper whirled around, nearly falling over his own hooves. “What is it?” 

“Look through the bottle… look at the laptop!” 

Dipper hurriedly grabbed the green bottle out of his sister’s webbed fingers and peered through it at the smashed laptop before him. The shape of the glass caused everything to magnify slightly, and, after a few moments, Dipper noticed what his twin had seen. 

On one of the pieces of the debris was a shiny, golden plaque. And on that plaque was an inscription that made the boy’s heart skip a beat; _McGucket Labs_. 

He looked up at his sister, eyes wider than, well, a deer’s. “Mabel, do you know what this means?”

She answered only with a wide, metal filled grin. 

 

 

 

The museum was, to say the very least, creepy. Through a series of twists and turns, and the help of McGucket himself, they had ended up here. The wizard himself said that no, he was not the author of The Journals, but he did recall something about it. Something about the museum; so here they were. 

Mabel sat in her chair, being wheeled by Wendy, them trailing behind Dipper, Soos, and McGucket. Soon was leaving a trail of little flecks of clay wherever he walked. Wendy seemed antsy, and whether it was at the prospect of adventure or something else, Mabel could not tell. All she knew was that Mermando had left her, just as she could _finally_ be with him properly. It simply was not fair. It was around 5 o’clock now, and the museum, while open, was barren. The empty hallways spooked Mabel, and everything had a sort of sepia tint to it in the late afternoon light that filtered in from the windows. Their collective footsteps (and wheel-noises) echoed around the exhibits. 

Everywhere Mabel looked, she saw things that reminded her of love. A formaldehyde heart, a romantic diorama, even a picture of _Gabe_. She sighed, lamenting this to Wendy. 

“Sometimes it’s easier to forget about it,” Wendy suggested. 

“That’s the thing,” Mabel moaned, “I can’t!”

Suddenly, the group had stopped, and a shadow at the end of the hall flashed before disappearing into a room.

“Look!” Dipper cried. 

They rushed to catch up with the shadow— it looked like that of a hooded figure. The group ended up in a small room that was dimly lit in a way that made all of the shadows look eerie; and the hooded figure was nowhere in sight. That was nothing, though, compared to what was in the room that was making the shadows. 

All over the room were _eyes_. Posters of eyes, diagrams of eyes, photographs, scale models, large models, dioramas, artwork — anything and everything. McGucket timidly backed into the center of the room, his oversized wizard hat flopping lopsided and little sparks dancing from his gnarled, bandaged fingertips. 

“I-I-I don’t like this place,” he stammered, “I feel like all of these eyes are watching me.”

Indeed, it seemed as if all of the eye memorabilia in the room were pointing at McGucket… but what if it wasn’t McGucket that they were looking toward?

Dipper vocalized her thoughts. “Wait, they are! Stand aside.” 

He trotted over on cloven hooves, and examined the wall behind the old man. All of the eyes were looking at one center eye, carved onto a piece of ancient stone, mounted on the wall. The boy’s ears flicked, and, tentatively, he pressed the stone. 

To the group’s surprise, the stone sunk into the wall with Dipper’s hand, and they all whirled around to see the fireplace in the room receding into the wall and becoming a passageway. They all looked at one another. _Adventure_. 

Slowly, and rather awkwardly, the bunch made their way down the dark and stony staircase that lead into oblivion. 

Wendy took a long sniff with her lupine nose. “Blegh. It smells like… Gideon down here… and like, a farm? And woodpecker…”

“That’s not a weird combination at all,” Soos pointed out. 

At the end of the staircase, there was a landing with a red curtain in front of what seemed to be a doorway. In the darkness, Mabel could faintly make out a design on the curtain — an eye with a large X through the middle of it. Creepy. 

Dipper slowly pushed back the curtain; just enough for them all to see inside. What they saw, however, was not what they expected. About half a dozen hooded figures stood in a circle in the center of a large room, the whole area paved in deep grey stone and hardly lit. At the forefront of the people in blood red robes was a golden chair, upholstered in the same crimson color. They all chanted something in unison, coming close together and joining their hands upon a creepy chest. The chest, and all of their robes, had the same eye design on them. Mabel shuddered in her chair. Then, a man broke the circle and opened the box. He pulled out a ray-gun looking device. Mabel saw something flash in McGucket’s eyes.

Suddenly, a woman with a hood over her head was shoved into the chair. The hood was removed as she was strapped to the chair, and the ray-gun thing pointed at her face. The woman was Lazy Susan- one of the few people in Gravity Falls that had not yet been turned into monsters. 

“What would you like to unsee?” questioned the man holding the gun. 

The poor old woman was trembling in her chair, and Mabel’s heart thudded against her chest as the scene unfolded. 

“Everyone in this town has turned into terrible monsters! I think I’m going loopy- loopier than I already am! And that’s saying something!” 

“Well, you won’t have to feel ‘loopy’ for much longer,” said the man. He had a strange British accent and a _really_ creepy, deep voice. 

Without another word, he pulled the trigger on the gun, and a beam of blue light shot out at Lazy Susan, and it engulfed her head as she spasmed in the chair, thrashing against the restraints as she cried out in pain. When it was all over, she looked even more dazed than usual. 

“Lazy Susan,” bellowed the man, his voice echoing throughout the chamber, “What do you know of monsters roaming the town?”

“Nothing. My mind is clear, thanks to the Society of the Blind Eye,” she said robotically. 

The man turned and raised his arms. Together, the whole hooded group chanted, “It is unseen.”

“Oh my gosh,” Dipper whispered, “they erased Lazy Susan’s memory!” 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the long wait, guys. The winter got really busy! Here's something short until I can finish The Blind Eye portion... then the party will really get going!
> 
> Ironic how the series ended before I could post another chapter, huh?


	11. The Blind Eye: Part II

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the wait! I'm really bad at updating lol... but here's a SUPER LONG chapter to make up for it! Enjoy!

The group stood in a shocked, stunned silence as they watched the other group, beyond the curtain. Lazy Suzan’s memories were placed in a tube, which was sent through a glass chute that extended up onto the ceiling, and out of the hall to where Dipper, Mabel, Wendy, Soos, and McGucket were, all the way to a place called “The Hall of the Forgotten.” Then, the hooded people exited with Lazy Susan in tow. When the coast was clear, Dipper peeked out beyond the curtain. The creepy people were far enough away that even _his_ sensitive ears could not hear anything, and Wendy, too, nodded in confirmation that they were distant. 

The five of them crept out from the red fabric and into the eerie hall, Dipper’s hooves echoing against the stone. Nervously, he trotted over to the mind-erasing gun, which was propped up in the box on full display. 

“Amazing,” he said, taking the gun in his hand, “a secret society of evil mind readers.” Just then, realization hit him, and he turned to Old Man McGucket. “I’ll bet they erased your memories a long time ago! They could be the key to unlocking all the mysteries of Gravity Falls… and getting all of us back to normal! Mabel, Wendy, you two stay here to make sure those weirdos don’t come back here. Soos, McGucket, and I will go find the Hall of the Forgotten.”

Then, Soos’ baseball cap got sucked off of his clay head and into the chute that led to the Hall of the Forgotten. “Follow that hat!” Dipper cried. 

 

 

And they were off. Wendy and Mabel were left alone in the hall, a copper werewolf and a pink mermaid sitting on ancient stairs. Once more, the sadness of yet another failed romance began to eat away at Mabel’s thoughts, and she sighed dejectedly. 

“I just don’t get it Wendy,” she began. 

The teen looked up from sniffing around the wall, her ears pricked up. 

“I hug a lot, I can burp the alphabet I have scratch-and-sniff clothing… how come every boy leaves me?”

“Psh, who cares?” Wendy laughed. “Boys are the worst. I wouldn’t get hung up, man.”

“Maybe I come on too strong,” the girl suggested, leaning back in her chair and waving her tail around. “Or maybe it’s this thing.”

“Well,” the werewolf turned around, “what’s your opening?” She tucked her ears down and pulled up her hair, shoving it all in her signature hat; save a piece that she made into a mustache. “Pretend I’m a boy. Testosterone.” With that, she spit, earning a giggle from Mabel.

Mabel took a deep breath. “HI! I’m Mabel! I’m 12, recently a mermaid, and own a pig! Want to get married?”

Wendy laughed, returning her hair and ears to their normal position, wagging her tail subconsciously. “Honestly, that was perfect! You should just forget about guys, man.”

Something lit up in Mabel’s brain. 

“That’s it! Forget about guys!” With that, Mabel wheeled herself over to where the mind-erase gun was perched. She lifted herself into the maroon and gold chair excitedly. “I can just type ‘summer romances’ into the ray, and then I won’t be so sad anymore!” 

Wendy raced over, ears drawn back. “Mabel, I don’t think that’s such a good idea. We don’t even know what that thing _does_. You could accidentally erase learning how to read, or breath, or-“

“All of those terrible songs you can’t get out of your head?” Mabel tried, recalling their journey to the museum. Soos had been blasting the latest summer song, “Blanchin’ in my Mansion” (whatever the heck that meant) to the point that Wendy, with her sensitive hearing especially, was annoyed enough that she ejected the CD and chucked it out of the car. 

This caused Wendy to pause her tirade and her ears to perk up, cocking her head with dog-like excitement that could only come from her recent change into a lupine form. 

“That’s actually a good-“

Wendy stopped mid-sentence and began twitching slightly, her face twisting strangely to look more and more wolf-like, and then back again. 

Mabel set the gun down. “Wendy?”

That word brought the girl out of her fit, and she reverted to normal— well, normal for a werewolf. “Oh, sorry. It’s cool. It’s been happening lately, I’m not sure why or what it means, but it’s been happening to the rest of my family too… Whatever. Let’s erase that stupid song from my head, shall we?”

Mabel shook off the shock of what had just happened. “Yeah, okay.” 

She picked up the gun again, and typed in “SUMMER ROMANCES.” Slowly, she lifted it to her forehead…

_BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP!_

Wendy cowered, clutching her ears. The source of the alarm came from the ceiling, where a lightbulb flashed red. _What did Dipper do?_

The red lights flashing and sirens wailing threw Mabel into a daze, but it was all numbed when her vision was clouded with darkness. 

 

 

Through a series of unfortunate events, the group ended up where they were. They were all sitting around a large pillar, tightly tied to the beam with a thick rope that bit into Mabel’s arms, even through her sweater.

Dipper had explained it like this: they found McGucket’s memories, but when they had taken the tube out from it’s spot, the alarm was set off, and he, Soos, and McGucket had been chased mercilessly through the halls of the museum until they lost McGucket, and the former two were captured. Soon after, Mabel herself, and Wendy, were found, and taken as well. 

And so, here they were. 

On one side of her was Wendy, and, on the other, Dipper. Mabel had been taken from her wheelchair, and her tail was flopping around on the floor without purpose as her water filter supplied her with oxygen. Dipper was in an uncomfortable position with his four legs sprawled out, and Wendy was twitching a lot and thrashing against the ropes. Surprisingly, they held her in place. Soos’ efforts of sort of melting through the rope were fruitless, and, McGucket was still nowhere to be seen. Mabel hoped that the old hillbilly was okay. 

The cult of crimson-robed men closed in around the foursome, chanting something foreign to Mabel. Her heart pounded at the thoughts that ran through her head of what could happen next. 

“You shouldn’t have come here,” said one of the hooded men, easily plucking the cylinder of memories from Dipper’s clutches. “We do not give up our secrets _lightly_.”

“Who are you bathrobe-wearing freaks?” Wendy snarled through her canine teeth. On the word ‘bathrobe,’ her eyes flashed a bright yellow. A canine growl escaped her lips, chilling Mabel to the bone as she wondered what was wrong with the werewolf. 

“Why are you doing this?” Dipper inquired from his awkward position.

“And what’s with your creepy British accent?” Mabel asked, also having a bout of curiosity. 

“Well, I suppose we _are_ going to erase your minds anyway,” said the assumed leader of the group in his unnerving accent. 

She hated that accent. British boys were no longer hot to her. 

One cue, one by one, the other robed figures pulled down their hoods, revealing, in secession, Toby Determined, Bud Gleeful, the weird Farmer Guy who had Octavia the eight-legged Cow, a tattooed, buff guy, and the creepy guy who married a woodpecker, as well as a woman from town that Mabel didn’t know the name of. The girl had no idea what to make of this. 

None of these people had been turned into monsters by the Fluvious… yet. However, there was still the last guy, the one with the deep voice and stupid British accent. 

“Ah, but you’ve never met me before,” he said, “and if you had, you wouldn’t remember it!” 

With that, he pulled off his cloak to reveal a frightening sight all on its own, Fluvious-Flu affected or not. He was a bald man with sickly, greenish looking skin, as well as an anatomically correct tattoo of the parts of the brain across his scalp. However, the most garish thing about him was his right eye. It was milky white, with a big x shaped scar that slashed through it and continued down his cheek and up to his brow. Oh yeah, he had no eyebrows, either. His creepy features, Mabel decided, certainly matched his voice. 

“I am Blind Ivan,” the man announced, “and we are The Society of the Blind Eye.”

This sentence was followed by a dramatic echo and collective hand gesture from the group. Mabel had to give them points for that. 

“Formed many years ago by our founder... our founder... Does anyone remember who he was?” Ivan continued. 

“We've been usin' that ray on our own brains an awful lot,” Bud Gleeful chuckled sheepishly. 

Mabel thought it was a good time to put on her skepticals. 

“Why would you do all this?” Dipper inquired, “What do you have to gain?”

Blind Ivan took a deep breath, and began a long spiel. “As you have no doubt discovered, Gravity Falls is a town plagued with supernatural strangeness. No one knew how to stop the things that went bump in the night, so our founder invented the next best thing: a way for us to forget. We took it upon ourselves to help the troubled townsfolk by erasing the memories of the strange things they've seen. Now, the people of Gravity Falls go about their lives ignorant and happy, thanks to us. And as a perk, we help ourselves forget things that trouble us. Everyone has something they'd rather forget. In fact, your own sister was about to use that ray on herself. Isn't that right?”

Mabel’s blood froze as she heard herself being called out. She had wanted to keep that fact to herself and Wendy only…

“Mabel, seriously?” Dipper cried, giving her an accusatory look. 

“Ha ha, maybe…” Mabel admitted.

“Plus, the whole people-turning-into-monsters epidemic has certainly plagued the tourists that arrive here, so we work to make sure that they forget what they’ve seen. However, sometimes the gun takes a way a little more than expected…” Ivan added. 

“Don't you see?” Dipper tried to reason with Ivan. “This is ruining lives! What about Old Man McGucket? He lives in a hut and talks to animals, thanks to you. Don't you feel bad about that?”

“Mmm, maybe a little,” Blind Ivan said. Just then, though, her lifted the memory-erasing gun to his temple and pulled the trigger. “But not anymore,” he said with a smirk. He set the gun down with finality. “You won’t be telling anyone else what you’ve learned here. Say good-bye to your summer,” he commanded, and then aimed the gun at _them_. 

Mabel’s heart was a jackhammer pounding against her ribcage. Would she forget all about the friends and fun that she’s had this summer? About Grunkle Stan? _About herself_?

“Guys, if we're gonna forget everything, I got some stuff I wanna get off my chest,” Soos piped up. “Mabel, for half the summer, I thought your name was Maple, like the syrup. No one corrected me!” he cried, little clay droplets rolling down his face from his eyes. 

The sight of the lovable man-child in tears pulled at Mabel’s emotions. “I only love some of my stuffed animals,” she confessed, “and the guilt is killing me!” 

Dipper joined in with a shaky voice. “Sometimes I use big words, and I don't actually know what they mean. I mean, I'm supposed to be the smart guy. If I'm not the smart guy, who am I?”

They all turned to Wendy, expecting her to join, but instead, she just growled some more and frothed a little at her jaws. She was not looking good as her eyes continued to spark golden.

“Wendy?” Mabel inquired.

Her only response was a snap of her teeth. Mabel noticed that her face was slowly becoming more and more canine. 

“Oh, stop being a bunch of babies,” Ivan tutted, and raised the gun further, his gnarled finger prepared to pull the trigger.

Suddenly, Old Man McGucket burst in from the shadows.

The group collectively gasped. 

“I raised the mining display for weapons —“ the old man began, but was cut short by a beam of cyan light, hitting him square in the forehead. He was knocked back onto the stone floor, out cold. 

“McGucket!” Mabel, Dipper, and Soos cried in unison. 

“Now that _he’s_ taken care of…” said Ivan. 

A guttural bark echoed throughout the room as, beside her Wendy thrashed violently, and the claws on her fingers tripled in size, effectively cutting through the thick ropes. She was set free, and was transforming into something new. Her features were becoming more and more wolf-like as she hunched over onto all fours. Within seconds, a huge, red wolf stood in front of them all, snarling with razor sharp pearly whites. 

“Tonight was a full moon,” Dipper said to no one in particular. 

“No one messes with me or my friends,” wolf-Wendy growled. “I’m not actually that laid back. I’m stressed, like, 24/7. Have you _met_ my family? They’re…” the wolf paused while the people in the room looked on, speechless. She gave a wolfish grin. “ _Animals_.” 

With that, the huge wolf leapt at Blind Ivan, effectively knocking him to the ground and sending the memory gun clattering from his grasp. Dipper, now free from his bonds, scrambled up and pranced over to it, sweeping the gun, and McGucket’s memories, up from the floor before any of the Society members could. Soos retrieved Mabel’s wheelchair from across the room and set Mabel in it before going to McGucket. 

Bud Gleeful pulled the thrashing Wendy away from Ivan, who was curled in a ball on the floor. However, she clawed her way out of his grasp and instead pounced on the WoodPecker Guy. Now, McGucket had come to, and was using his wizard powers to fend off the thug with all of the tattoos, and Soos was brawling with the farmer guy. Blind Ivan, now recovered, got up and snatched the gun from Dipper.

“Hey!” Dipper cried. 

Thankfully, Dipper still had the memories, but was then cornered by the tattooed man. “Oh no you don’t,” threatened the latter. On a whim, Dipper impulsively stuck the memories into the transport tube. 

Mabel wheeled over and gabbed the memories from the tube, wheeling away, but not before the Farmer Guy had taken them back. Soos, meanwhile,had bounded over and swiped the ray gun from Blind Ivan. Mabel, retaliating to the Farmer, broke open the memory transport tube and sucked up his robe in it, leaving the Farmer in his underwear, which was truly disgusting. The Farmer dropped the tube in shock.

“Well, time to erase that forever,” Soos joked, raising the gun to his head. 

 

Dipper had miraculously caught McGucket’s tube of memories. 

“Give me that!” Ivan yelled, taking the gun. 

Dipper, aided by McGucket,threw the bottle up into the transport tubes.

Wendy was still brawling with WoodPecker Guy, until she noticed the commotion. Before she could do anything, though, the thug pushed her aside, and, with a yelp, the wolf crumpled against the wall. 

Dipper’s heart skipped a beat as he watched the light fade from her eyes. “Wendy!” he cried. 

He saw the wolf’s chest rise and fall. Satisfied with the fact that Wendy was alive, he turned to see Ivan chasing after the memory tube in the ceiling. Dipper galloped behind him on cloven hooves, soon catching up due to his cervitaur advantage. 

“Those memories belong to McGucket!” he cried.

“But the secrets belong to the Society!” retorted Ivan. 

The man tripped poor Dipper, who face planted into the cobblestone with his deer half sprawled out on the floor. Ivan now held the tube of memories and the gun once again. 

Mabel and Soos had caught up to them, and Dipper had gotten up. 

“End of the line,” said Ivan, aiming the gun at the trio. “Say goodbye to your precious memories.”

He pulled the trigger, and Dipper braced for impact. 

But it never came. 

In front of him stood Old Man McGucket, taking the effects of the ray with full force. The old wizard stood strong.

“McGucket, you just took a bullet for me,” Dipper gasped in awe. 

Another ray shot at the old man, landing true. 

“Oh my gosh! Are you okay?” Dipper could not understand how, before, McGucket couldn’t take a shot from the gun, but now he could. 

“Okay as I’ll ever be!” 

The crazy senior continued forward, getting shot with a ray with each step. Ivan looked on, bewildered as to why the blasts were not working. 

“Hit me with your best shot, Baldy, but my mind’s been gone for about 30 years now, and, now I have a protection spell on! I’m a wizard now, and you can’t break what’s already broken!” 

With a final lunge, he slapped the gun from Ivan’s hand, and it fell to the floor.

 

Mabel, Dipper, McGucket, Soos, and Wendy, now back to her hybrid werewolf state in slightly tattered clothing, stood in front of the members of the Society of the Blind eye. After McGucket had knocked Ivan out cold, they wasted no time rounding up the remaining members and tying them up to the same pillar. Mabel felt a burst of pride as she observed her handiwork with the knot. Her macrame skills had certainly paid off!  
“Doesn’t feel so good being tied up, does it?” Mabel asked. “Let’s draw on their faces!” Mabel suggested, scribbling out the “knowledge” tattoo on Ivan’s forehead and replacing it with “BUTTS.”

“We won’t forget this!” claimed Ivan. 

“I wouldn’t be so sure,” Dipper said, aiming the gun, “say cheese!” 

He pulled the trigger. 

 

They stood in front of a small television in the basement of the museum, and Dipper had placed the tube of McGucket’s memories into a corresponding slot on the device.

A video began to play on the screen as the group watched in awe. Dipper’s mind raced with anticipation. He was so curious — what was McGucket’s connection to the author? What was his past? Why was it so important?

The video played, and Dipper held his breath. 

A young man resembling McGucket appeared on the screen, sans the beard and with a few more teeth, and glasses. He stared into the camera with serious purpose, and began his monologue. 

“My name is Fiddleford Hadron McGucket,” said a younger McGucket, “and I wish to unsee what I have seen.”

Dipper’s eyes widened. “Sweet sasparilla,” McGucket whispered under his breath. The man on the recording continued. 

“For the past year, I have been working as an assistant for a visiting researcher. He has been cataloging his findings about Gravity Falls in a series of journals. I helped him build a machine which he believed had the potential to benefit all mankind, but something went wrong. I decided to quit the project. But I lie awake at night, haunted by the thoughts of what I've done. I believe I have invented a machine that can permanently erase these memories from my mind.”

The young man held up the memory ray, the same one that Dipper held in his very hands as he watched.

“Test subject One: Fiddleford.” The man pulled the trigger, and the recording faded to static, before recovering. “It worked! I can't recall a thing.” The tape cut. “I call it the Society of the Blind Eye. We will help those who want to forget by erasing their bad memories!”

More static ensued before a new image came up, with a more disheveled Fiddleford. “Today, I came across a colony of little men, very disturbing. I would like to forget seeing this.” The tape cut again, and then came back to reveal the same man, but with the room a mess and his arm in a cast. “I accidentally hit another car in town today. I feel terri-bibble! Terrible. I've been forgetting words lately. I wonder if there are any negative side effects…” More static. The video game back. Fiddleford was now in a different room, with a small beard. “I saw something in the lake, something big!” More static. “My hair's been a-fallin' out, so I got this hat from a scarecrow. Hey, are my pants on backwards?” Yet more static, and then the feed returned. McGucket looked as he did presently, with wild eyes and a junkyard backdrop. He was laughing maniacally and speaking gibberish. 

The tape cut to even more static, and then the screen went black. 

“McGucket, we’re sorry,” Dipper began.

“Naw, it’s okay,” McGucket said, “you kids helped me get my memory back! Now, after all these years, I can put myself together again.”

“So, wait. You weren't the author, but you worked with him. Do you remember who he was?” Dipper inquired. The question was always on the back of his mind. 

“I… I still think I need more time.”

Dipper let out a breath that he hadn’t realized he had been holding, and nodded in understanding. It would take some time, but the young boy filled with resolve as he realized that they were immensely closer to realizing who the author was, and, by default, how to get rid of this curse. 

Soon, they would be back to normal. 


End file.
